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9th out of 24 books
—
4 voters
Money Boy
by
Paul Yee
Ray Liu knows he should be happy. He lives in a big suburban house with all the latest electronic gadgets, and even finds plenty of time to indulge in his love of gaming. He needs the escape. It’s tough getting grades that will please his army veteran father, when speaking English is still a struggle. And he can’t quite connect with his gang at high school — immigrants lik...more
Hardcover, 192 pages
Published
August 23rd 2011
by Groundwood Books
(first published August 3rd 2011)
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Money Boy is about a teenage boy named Ray. His parents are divorced and he is an immigrant to the United States, which means he is trying to learn English while learn how to live in a new place. One other thing that Ray has difficulty with is being gay. His family and father do not know, and when his dad finds out, he throws Ray out of the house. He is beaten and robbed while living on the streets and has to make a difficult choice on whether or not to become a male prostitute. Being a “money b...more
I thought this was a very interesting book that dealt with many issues. A teenage boy, Ray, moves to America from Asia. He is struggling to learn to speak in English, fit in with his new surrounding, and being gay. When his father finds out he is gay, Ray is thrown out and forced to live on the street. Ray must deal with the consequences of living on the street, getting beat up, robbed, and having little source of money. Ray must make a tough decision to become a ‘money boy’ better known as a ma...more
Money Boy by Paul Yee was in my personal opinion an okay book. It's about a young man named Ray Liu who moved to America from Asia. He goes to school like most americans and plays video games like its noone buisness however his home life is not the traditionaly American. He gets great pressure from his father to get better grades and pressure from his friends to date girls. The thing is is Ray doesn't know for sure if he even likes girls and he knows that he hates school. If it were up to him hi...more
The first chapter in this book introduces like 8 different characters and is slightly boring and confusing. In my opinion, once you get past the first chapter in the book, it is really good and quite interesting and a good book. In the beginning chapters you get introduced to the main character who’s name is Ray. He is a Chinese immigrant who has recently moved to Canada. He has recently moved to Toronto and you come to find out that his mother did not travel with he and his father to Canada. He...more
First of all once you get past the 1st chapter of this book I believe that the storyline and context becomes easier to understand and feel interested in. This story begins with the introduction of Ray Liu who is a Chinese immigrant living in Toronto, Canada. He lives with his father, stepmother and stepbrother. His mother remained in China, as did his beloved grandfather both of whom he had previously lived with. Ray's father, Ba, is an interesting man with a strong opinion of people around him...more
Ray Liu is a Chinese immigrant in Toronto, Canada. He lives with his father, stepmother and stepbrother. His mother remained in China, as did his beloved grandfather. His father is extremely hard on him. Ray is not a great student and he knows that. But he's much more interested in his online role-playing game. Ray is also keeping a secret: he thinks he might be gay.
Then his father finds out that he has been visiting varies Asian gay sites and kicks him out of the house. Now, reader's might thin...more
Then his father finds out that he has been visiting varies Asian gay sites and kicks him out of the house. Now, reader's might thin...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Ray Liu immigrated to Canada from China with his father, stepmother and stepbrother. Unlike his brother, Ray performed poorly in school, would rather spend his time on an online video game, and he's gay. When Ray's father finds out his son is gay, he kicks Ray out of the house. Ray deals with many misfortunes while on the streets. His things are stolen from him and with little money he struggles to find a way to survive. Eventually Ray decides the only way he will be able to earn money is to joi...more
Ray Liu has lived with his parents, his grandfather, and now his father. Recently, Ray and his father immigrated to Toronto with his stepmother and brother. Ray is trying to assimilate but has a more difficult time than his brother. His father constantly reminds him of this, harasses him and shows obvious and public favoritism to his brother. One day, Ray’s father catches him surfing gay websites and evicts him from the house. Ray struggles to survive and is completely unprepared to succeed on h...more
Money Boy is a book that deals with male prostitution, the tough life of immigrants, and relationships between children and their parents. In this book a young Chinese immigrant finds himself prostituting himself in an unfamiliar place because his father has kicked him to the curb. His father kicked him out when he found out that he was a homosexual. This book deals with a lot of tough issues and you should be prepared to defend your reasons for using this book if you want to use it in a classro...more
I read this book and really enjoyed it because it opened my eyes to many issues that I haven’t had to face in my lifetime. The main character is a young boy who recently immigrated to the United States and can hardly speak any English. In addition, the main character is gay. As a straight female that was born and raised in the United States, these were issues that I have never really considered or dealt with before. However, after reading this book, I learned a valuable lesson: never judge anyon...more
I liked this book. It was an interesting look into the lives and ideas of Chinese youth in Canada, although I'm not sure how accurate it is - everyone is different.
The one thing that got me the most with this book is that Ray kept making stupid decision after stupid decision so I really couldn't feel too bad for him when things started messing up for him. He created silly excuses and hit things like a toddler.
I felt a hint of Holden Caulfield in there, but I think that might have just been the w...more
The one thing that got me the most with this book is that Ray kept making stupid decision after stupid decision so I really couldn't feel too bad for him when things started messing up for him. He created silly excuses and hit things like a toddler.
I felt a hint of Holden Caulfield in there, but I think that might have just been the w...more
This is an gritty novel about Ray Liu, a Chinese immigrant living in Toronto with his traditional father. Ray's father, Ba, kicks him out when, by going through Ray's computer, he discovers Ray is gay. Pride plays a large role on both Ray and Ba's parts, as Ray finds himself struggling to survive and make on the streets of Toronto, even going so far as to dabble in the life of being a money boy.
This book nicely illustrates Ray's struggles as a Chinese immigrant working to learn English and to ba...more
This book nicely illustrates Ray's struggles as a Chinese immigrant working to learn English and to ba...more
I saw another reviewer say they had trouble with this book because the way the main character thought and spoke didn't seem very realistic.
I have to disagree. I think it's actually very realistic considering what the mind of an 18 year old immigrant is like in a new country. I found this book very moving. It painfully and accurately depicts the incredible tension between old world, highly traditional parents who are used to having a dictatorial role in their children's lives and the kids who are...more
I have to disagree. I think it's actually very realistic considering what the mind of an 18 year old immigrant is like in a new country. I found this book very moving. It painfully and accurately depicts the incredible tension between old world, highly traditional parents who are used to having a dictatorial role in their children's lives and the kids who are...more
I thought money boy was a very great book. However, I'm not sure in which classroom setting it would be appropriate due to the fact that at times it did get quite explicit. The general fact that the boy is selling his body for money really isn't socially acceptable, and the fact that he is gay doesn't really help the situation. Finding a way to integrate this material that you normally have to "tip-toe" around because it is still somewhat controversial would be difficult. That being said, it wou...more
Nov 22, 2012
Jon-henry Kubej
added it
This was a pretty good book. It is not really the style that I enjoy to read. However, it was written well. It is about a young Asian boy who was kicked out of his fathers house after he found out he was looking at gay websites. The Asian boy is gay. He lives on the street on what he has left in his bank account. Once he ran out of money he decided he would become a 'money boy'. A Money boy is a term for young boys who are prostitutes. They sell their bodies to usually older men. After about a w...more
On the surface Ray Liu appears to be living a normal immigrant life: learning English, going to school, working in the family business. School is difficult for for Ray. Despite how much his father pushes him, Ray can't keep up to his stepbrother who is the family favourite. When his father finds gay oriented websites in his browser history he kicks Ray out of the house. The few possessions that he takes are soon stolen. Not knowing what else to do Ray turns to prostitution. "In China boys who se...more
An interesting look at a teenage Chinese homosexual immigrant. The ending unfortunately came too quickly and wrapped things up too nicely. I appreciated that the book explores a possible current immigrant view towards homosexuality and it's not a positive view. Much of the teen LGBT books I've been reading lately are quite accepting of homosexuality if they are set in present times. The only "problem novels" involving gay teens tend to be set at least 10-20 years ago. The reality remains that ab...more
I liked this book, but didn't love it. I feel that if it had been given a little bit more length and polish time, that it could have been a great book. The book felt rushed, which isn't surprising considering that the book is less than 200 pages (with small dimensions, at that) but tries to encompass not only a teenage coming-of-age story, but the coming-of-age story of a gay young man who is also struggling with biculturalism, immigration and acclimatization and complicated family relationships...more
This is an interesting take on gay YA fiction, as it incorporates other challenges like being from a foreign country and parental abuse of the verbal persuasion.
Ray is Chinese and lives a pretty comfortable life in Toronto, but he hides the fact that he is gay from his super conservative ex-military father and his friends at school. Most of his time is spent playing online games which help him forget his true identity. Eventually, his father discovers that Ray has been visiting gay websites and...more
Ray is Chinese and lives a pretty comfortable life in Toronto, but he hides the fact that he is gay from his super conservative ex-military father and his friends at school. Most of his time is spent playing online games which help him forget his true identity. Eventually, his father discovers that Ray has been visiting gay websites and...more
Talk about your Tiger Dad: Ray's Ba is always after him to study, work hard, get good grades (the fact that Ba was in the army and police force helps with the yelling part). The problem is that Ray isn't a good student, much more interested in hanging out and playing Rebel State, an on-line war game. And he's gay. When Ba finds out, he kicks Ray out of the house, forcing Ray onto the Toronto streets. His life of deprivation and making ends meet as a "money boy" (prostitute) only lasts a week, bu...more
I had trouble reading this because of the diction. I think (hope) that the bad grammar, poor English, and strange slang was intentional to create an authentic character but it was painful to read. I liked the insights about the pressures immigrant teens face but I was not impressed by the novel as a whole. I think the story of a gay character rejected by his family is becoming overdone. It’s an important story to have out there, but it needed a fresh take. I like characters who are more than the...more
Ray is a gay Chinese immigrant teen in Toronto, addicted to online role-playing games, who's accidentally outed by his nosy father. In straightforward prose, Yee brings us into a world I knew little about, whether, closeted virginal gay teen, online obsessives, or perhaps most interestingly the Chinese immigrant world. Who knew Chinese thought pancakes were disgusting? Sounds like it's a lot to pack in, but Yee handles it all well - hope kids pick it up.
This book is a different take on the LBGQT book. Ray is a Chinese immigrant in Tornoto. He is not your stereotypical Asian teen. He struggles learning English and he is gay. HIs father kicks him out when he finds out he has been surfing gay porn sights. Ray grows up quickly in his time on the streets.
What I did like about the book is its different approach in a coming-of-age story. I did not feel like I was reading the same old story. It is short and could use more development. I really want to...more
What I did like about the book is its different approach in a coming-of-age story. I did not feel like I was reading the same old story. It is short and could use more development. I really want to...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
A Stonewall honor book, this is an important contribution to YA lit because it's unique - a Chinese immigrant teen's experiences when his strict father kicks him out for being gay. But I didn't connect with Paul Yee's writing style and I never really felt like I got to know Ray enough to care very much about his plight. However, I will say that Ray's story is one I won't soon forget.
YA about a Chinese immigrant in Toronto who is kicked out of his home at 18 for being gay and considers prostitution as a job. Gritty without being explicit, and convincingly immature protagonist. I don't know whether I liked it or whether the ending was realistic, but I'm finding it hard to get out of my mind. I liked the grandfather character.
This book is about a young asian boy who is kicked out of his house when his dad finds out that he's been looking at gay porn online. From there he travels to the city, and becomes a money boy (male prostitute). I did not like this book because of how unrealistic it is. I don't believe that the average gay male would read this book and be able to relate to it, which is something I think a good book should be able to do.
I wanted to like this book, but it was too random and disconnected. There was no way to predict what would happen because there were no fully-formed characters. Things just seemed to happen.
I really liked the idea and the exploration of the culture of money boys, but there was just not enough substance.
I really liked the idea and the exploration of the culture of money boys, but there was just not enough substance.
Ray, a Chinese immigrant in Canada, gets kicked out of his house when his father finds out that he's been browsing gay websites. The following days are formative, as he navigates the challenges of being young, gay, immigrant, and homeless.
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